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This is the official one year birthday episode of The Wealthy Healthy podcast and blog!

I want to open today’s show saying that seriously, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has been tuning in week after week throughout 2017. In this first year we’ve reached people through audio and in writing over 10,000 times, in 46 countries around the world, in 43 states in the U.S. with over 1,000 people interacting with us on Instagram. It’s seriously been so much fun to get to hear from all of you and even if you’ve never reached out but tune in regularly, thank you so much as well just for tuning in and most of all, Steve and I hope that everyone listening or reading has been able to gain something from following The Wealthy Healthy in our first year producing content.

Now onto the real stuff you’re here for. Today’s episode is going to be sort of a TL;DR or recap, basically a SparkNotes summary of the big important themes and lessons taken from 45 episodes dedicated to inspiring better mental, physical, and financial health, including the big takeaways from our guests and a distillation of their answers to our standard show-closing episodes. I’ll be referencing specific episode numbers throughout so if there’s anything you missed or want to revisit, it’ll be easily found by looking us up on iTunes or the Podcast app for iOS, on Podcast Addict for Android, or on our website at thewealthyhealthy.co. We won’t spend this episode just listing out every episode or repeating everything our guests said, but rather with each segment we look to distill, we’ll also give you the big lessons so you can immediately action on them yourself or visit the episode itself for a deeper dive.

Before we get started, I want to make sure everyone who hit this episode has a chance to hear what changes we are making at the podcast and blog in 2018, several of which are on a roadmap and others will be effective immediately.

Thewealthyhealthy.co is moving to thewealthyhealthy.com

Removal of episode categories except Steve Sundays – we’ve always said we see mental, physical, and financial health as interconnected, so releasing episodes in silos may be counter to that mission; we’ll still release very similar episode variety and cadence however

With removal of categories, we’ll also be removing staggered releases; I believe newcomers to the podcast find it very confusing that Motivational Mondays come out on the first Monday of the month, Talk Tuesdays on the second Tuesday, Financial Fridays on the third Friday etc. so instead of staggering releases, we’ll just be releasing episodes every Monday

Higher frequency of guest episodes

Work toward starting a newsletter and will be incentivizing you sharing your email with us in exchange for free book lists, video seminar “course” style content not recorded on the podcast, and more

FINANCIAL LESSONSStandalone Episodes
Let’s look first at the big lessons and themes we discussed around finances. We opened up the show in early 2016 talking about how we’ll have a skew toward financial independence and we pretty much stuck to that. We defined financial independence in Episode 2, discussing how it’s an approach to setting up your finances in a way such that you minimize stress in your life, create a buffer or eventually a large nest egg, and give yourself the freedom of options, whether it’s to work a job you enjoy regardless of pay, to pursue entrepreneurship or passion projects,or to retire completely whether traditionally or early.

Throughout the year we focused on ways to maximize your exposure to ideas that can lead to this financial independence and financial freedom that likely most people seek. We highlighted in Episode 6 why it’s so important to avoid lifestyle inflation and provided some strategies on how you can manage and avoid it to prioritize your financial health.

In Episodes 9, 12, and 16, we summarized the books The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Fastlane to show two totally different approaches to wealth accumulation, where The Millionaire Next Door highlights a longitudinal study of first-generation millionaires and how pretty much all of them save diligently and live frugally and well within their means, while The Millionaire Fastlane gives that approach a big thumbs down in favor of taking huge risks until something pays off to the tune of several million dollars, leaving you the rest of your life to enjoy as a wealthy individual. Ultimately we combined the ideas from both to create a strategy that involves smart wealth management alongside both active and passive pursuit of windfall opportunities.

In Episodes 19, 25, and 29 we shared some insight on how to manage your finances for a fruitful future. We talked about the 401k and the ROTH IRA and how the two differ in structure but ultimately leave you in very much the same place financially at the finish line. We made the case for saving because you are never promised tomorrow. We went over the Rule of 72 and to show you how mathematically straightforward it is to pretty reliably double your investments every decade while sitting back and letting your money work for you.

Steve Sundays
We learned a ton about finances from Steve Sunday episodes as well, so at this point I’ll ask Steve a few questions! (Listen to the audio to hear his answers)

Your net worth improved by $15,000 in 2017 with only a very minimal change to your overall income. Looking back on it, how has this experience changed how you view money?
How has this experience changed how you manage money?
What would you say was the biggest surprise throughout the process?
I wanted to recap a few of the big points we highlighted walking away from each episode, then I’ll ask you a question or two around them:
We focused on higher interest debts first
We adjusted your Bitcoin and 401k allocations to ensure your high-interest credit card debts were tackled first
Your Bitcoin and cryptocurrency holdings boomed, suggesting that while it’s still a risk not suited for all people, that being opportunistic and taking calculated risks can pay off
You began effortful progress toward developing a portfolio and considering future career opportunities that will pay more
So with those details in mind, what would you say are the biggest lessons or takeaways for others who listening right now may be where you were a year ago and are hoping to make a change this year around better financial health?
Anyone who wants to follow the entire path, you can see Steve’s spreadsheet on our website and you can listen to Steve’s progress and hardships along the way in Episodes 5, 14, 26, and 38.

Talk Tuesday Guests
Last but certainly not least, we learned a lot about finances from our guests throughout our monthly Talk Tuesday segments.

In Episode 4, Jedan Garcia shared how immigrating from Peru to the U.S. provided opportunities along with challenges, and how intentional pursuit of high-income employment areas such as computer science led to a six-figure income in software engineering right out of school.

In Episode 8, Kyle Glenn spoke about how freelance and creative work is a viable option financially for those who choose to pursue the arts professionally.

In Episode 11, Victoria Hendrickson shed some light on higher education and how she was able to attain multiple degrees without an insane amount of debt, and how that education opened up doors for her professional future.

In Episode 15, Craig King shared the story of his upbringing and how it was through self-education and athletics that he was able to find opportunities to ultimately escape from the violence of the housing projects in which he grew up, leading him down an against-odds path of six-figure earnings before the age of 30.

In Episode 21, Alex Capozzolo told the tale of being scammed out of thousands of dollars as an entrepreneur, moving across the country, and pivoting his career path by making his own luck and sending out cold emails, cold letters, and cold calls to pursue a future in sales and real estate.

In Episode 24, Nolan Simons talked about how going out of his comfort zone repeatedly led to numerous professional opportunities that ultimately skyrocketed his career trajectory and resulted in him multiplying his salary several times over.

In Episode 28, the CEO of Cornerstone Wealth Management Group and New York Times bestselling author of “The Sustainable Edge,” Scott Ford joined us to talk about how as a wealth manager he is able to start with finances to help his clients achieve balance in all areas of life. Scott shared a ton about common mistakes, best practices, and told us if you’re looking for professional financial help, you should look into fiduciaries whose motivations in a wealth management context lie with your best interests and not with lining their own pockets.

In Episode 31, Tableau’s former EVP of Sales and early retiree Kelly Breslin Wright shared ideas around how she identified good opportunities and why she decided to leave the workforce at the peak of her career to opt for an early retirement.

In Episodes 44 and 45 this month, we spoke to J from MillennialBoss and Gwen from Fiery Millennials about how at a young age they’ve taken different paths to a similar end-goal of financial independence and potential early retirement.

GUEST ANSWERS DISTILLED
Every month we had a guest on the show and at the end we asked them a series of similar questions. Many of them answered similarly. The most common answers or particularly unique answers are as follows — for the podcast we’ll go over only the most commonly occurring themes, but for those curious or those who read the blog, you can see many of the answers listed out by guest.

If You Could Go Back in Time, Would You Would Go Back and Do Differently?
Alex Capozzolo, Episode 21: If I had to go back, I’d start earlier. The best way to learn is to start and fail again and again, so I didn’t really learn until I started.
Nolan Simons, Episode 24: Start sooner. Start the company sooner, get out of my comfort zone sooner.
Kelly Breslin Wright, Episode 31: I don’t think of things that way. You learn from your failures and challenges and mistakes, if I went back and did something totally differently then I might not have ended up where I am.
Imaan Taghavi, Episode 41: If something is a mistake, you have to find a way to learn from it. I went into my Master’s program out of not really knowing what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t a question of passion. Now I look to do things I am curious about.
J from Millennial Boss, Episode 44: Definitely wouldn’t.

Most Recommended Non-Fiction or Inspirational Books
Alex Capozzolo, Episode 21: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Guy Kawasaki and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffery Zaslow
Scott Ford, Episode 28: Enough by John Bogle and Cool Tools by Kevin Kelly
Dr. Adrian Villalba, Episode 34: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and The Stonecutter folk tale
Imaan Taghavi, Episode 41: On Writing Well by William Zinsser and Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
J from MillennialBoss, Episode 44: The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry, and The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
Gwen from Fiery Millennials, Episode 45: The Simplest Path to Wealth by JL Collins and The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Any Parting Words?
Jedan Garcia, Episode 4: Take a minute, think about where you are, think about where you want to be, and build a bridge to cross and get there.
Kyle Glenn, Episode 8: Be mindful.
Victoria Hendrickson, Episode 11: Look around us and help other people.
Craig King, Episode 15: Seek to understand the people, systems, and processes around us.
Alex Capozzolo, Episode 21: Remember where everyone starts, don’t let your limiting beliefs hold you back. You can get to where you want to be.
Scott Ford, Episode 28: List your six most important things that you want to accomplish tomorrow, and when you get up tomorrow, look at your number one and do not move to number two until you finish number one. If you finish only number one, you can still go to bed knowing you got your highest priority task done that day.
Danny Peoples, Episode 37: Stop the negative stigma on mental health. If you need help, get help.
J from MillennialBoss: You have to make big moves to get big results — you can’t be skipping your lattes every day and expect to pay off $100k in debt or get rich.

ON MOTIVATING BETTER MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
Outside of finances, we spent probably around a third of our time speaking to topics around mental and physical health.

Talk Tuesday Guests
A few of the biggest highlights were guests who spoke to these topics from a perspective either of personal experience or professional expertise.

We talked with Jedan about how he lost 60 pounds and kept it off, by overhauling his dietary habits and learning to tailor and alter his wardrobe so he would be forced to keep the weight off if he wanted to continue fitting into his clothes. Kyle reflected on how creativity and flow states can help with personal expression and positively impact mental health. Victoria told a few stories about what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated field and how she’s dealt with some of those challenges as well as potential advantages.

In Episode 18, holistic health coach Emily Rae Detrick shared insights from the perspective of a health professional promoting a plant-based lifestyle and what she’s seen work well for herself and her clients.

In later episodes, Nolan talked about stepping outside his comfort zone, and Scott spoke to balance in life and tackling top priorities. Dr. Adrian Villalba told us about the dangers of sitting or standing all day, Danny talked about struggling with anxiety and seeking therapy while deployed for the Marines, and Imaan bared all in his lessons learned coming to terms with and overcoming an unlikely cancer diagnosis and recovery.

Standalone Episodes
In standalone episodes we ran the gamut, spending early episodes around time optimization, inexpensive and efficient exercise routines, healthy mindsets, and respecting the basics. As the show went on I started to experiment a bit more with the Motivational Monday format, switching a little from pep talk to actionable outlines. We shared steps to beating test or performance anxiety, potential red flags to how your behavior in the workplace is received, and different tips and tricks for portraying confident body language.

Two of our best-received episodes were quite recent: Episode 33 shed light on four rules to escape a rut, where we talked about the importance of making the commitment to eliminate “zero days,” thanking and forgiving yourself, and being diligent about exercise and reading for bettering yourself. And lastly, Episode 40 we played around with something that’s become a bit of a tagline for the show, highlighting two simple rules to lead a meaningful life.

And on that note, we are putting a bow on 2017 and looking forward to a new year. Listeners new and old, thank you so much again for tuning in. Steve and I have so massively enjoyed this whole process and watching this project grow and we look forward to serving you even better in 2018.

If you haven’t yet, please subscribe on iTunes or Podcast Addict so you never miss an episode, and if don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @thewealthyhealthy. As always, the blog and other content is available at thewealthyhealthy.com (or .co), we will very very soon have exclusive content and freebies there so keep your eyes and ears out for that. Until next time, be good and be great.